From Ashes
by GypsyTimeLady5147
Summary: Based off an AU created by a YouTube'er. One year after the fall of Doben and his Death Jarls, Shale and a small community of refugees struggle to make a living in the wilderness and remain unseen. Small bands of Doben followers still roam the forests and when they take in a group of refugees, everyone's secrets start worming their way to the surface. AU. OC/OC.


**A/N: Yes, I know, a Skyrim story out of the blue, but I've been having a lack of inspiration for anything else recently. Sorry!**

**First off, a big thank you to VoicesFromTheDark on YouTube for giving me inspiration for this fanfic. :D This is based off of his universe in the K'Joor Skyrim series. I highly suggest you go check it out! It's awesome!**

**So this doesn't have a lot of references to his universe yet, but the next few chapters will. I didn't want to upload a chapter with tons of exposition yet. Makes for a very dull read, don't you think? **

**Anyway, sorry if you don't know what I'm talking about, Skyrim fans. Watch his vids if you want to understand! Thanks!**

FALSE LIGHT

"Shale?" Knuckles rapped gently on the doorframe. "There's trouble just outside of town."

With a growl tickling the back of her throat, Shale forced her attention away from the book in her hands. She didn't even bother looking up. "It's not even dawn and I've had a long night, Tolbehr. This 'trouble' better be worth my time."

Most would have backed off at the snarl in her words. Not Tolbehr, never him. "Some of the scouts came across a group of refugees on the road. A couple families and a mage looking worse off than we are …."

"Did they search them for seals?"

"Yes and they were clean …."

"So what's the problem?"

The Nord's hesitation drew amber eyes away from handwritten pages. A grim set to his jaw and the unease rolling off him brought Shale on edge. "They refuse to let us confiscate and destroy their wagons. And … they have a wheel cart."

The hairs on the back of her neck and arms stood on end, a fierce snarl bursting its way free. Adrenaline shot through her veins, driving back the exhaustion that had almost dragged her into unconsciousness. Every scent and sound sharpened, becoming so clear they almost hurt. She clenched her teeth, resisting the curl of her lip. The worn covers of the journal snapped shut. Were those people mad? Did they not know what always happened with wheel carts?

Tolbehr raised his hands in a calming gesture. Large, calloused hands from years at a forge before everything fell apart. "There's no need to get violent with these people. The mage might need some … convincing, but we might be able to convince them to come with us if you explain it to them." Stahlrim colored eyes flicked towards the sword and daggers leaning against the wall.

"I've told you I'm not one of them. I never was," Shale retorted, white-hot needles stabbing and twisting her heart. A shake of her head shoved those unwelcome emotions away, if only for a little while. The carved beads in her tangled sunset locks clacked softly together as she rolled to her feet. "I'm tired of posing as one of them; it's … wrong."

"But if it helps save others from Doben's clutches? Wouldn't that be worth it in the long run?" When Shale refused to answer, Tolbehr heaved a sigh as large as the sword on his back. "Look, you're tired, I'm tired, and the stubborn idiots won't listen to anyone who looks like a bandit. Those blades will let us destroy those things. We'll work out what to do with them later when we're both rested. Deal?'

Massaging the back of her neck, Shale found herself nodding in agreement. What choice did she have, really? "Very well. As long as we can also talk about this charade you insist I maintain. This has to end sometime."

Tolbehr nodded solemnly and backed out of the room. "I know, lass. I know. I'll give you a few minutes."

Shale crouched in front of the one-handed sword when her friend left. A dead weight attached itself to her heart and guts as she struggled against memories she couldn't afford to recall. She reached out to touch the hilt, remembering the hands that had held it with such ferocity yet holding her with such tenderness.

_Focus girl. You can cry later. Maybe after some mead._

It took probably longer than she intended to put on the sword and daggers. Even as she stepped outside into the crisp pre-dawn air, she felt as if she was dishonoring the dead. It didn't matter how she had gotten the blades; it still felt wrong. She felt the heat of Tolbehr's hand reach for her shoulder and shrugged it away. "Where are they?"

"Not even a mile past Jayleigh's place."

Too close. Shale set off at a ground eating lope the instant her feet touched the bare earth. Wood smoke drifted through the air from a couple of the houses, but no one wandered around the clearing. Too early even for the earliest of risers. A burning anger started to rise as she wove through the trees. Even if those wagons and wheel cart were perfectly normal, she still had to wreak her revenge on Him every chance she had. No mage or poor family could stop her from it.

A breeze slowed her progress. She breathed it in, eyes fluttering closed as she tasted the scents carried in its wake. At once, she recognized the scents of the scout party and dismissed those; she knew them all. Around half a dozen new ones assaulted her. Her friend had been right. Two small families and a mage. The later smelling of air just burned by lightning. Her nose wrinkled; mages always caused trouble.

By the time she reached the road, the yelling had died down to a barely controlled discussion. Shale paused. At the moment, the horses were upwind of her. If she moved or the wind changed, they would bolt, potentially harming everyone in their path.

Tolbehr tapped her shoulder as he strode past. He knew exactly what would happen. "Secure the horses," he bellowed, stepping out onto the road. Long practice had the scouts running to grab the harnesses and pull the horses' heads down.

"Just what in Oblivion are you doing?" Yelped one of the men, trying to get one of the scouts away from his horses. "You've no right to hold us here and even less to treat them like this!"

"If you'd get your head out of the sand, you'd know we have every right," came Tolbehr's curt retort. A heavy hand on the man's shoulder was all the restraint needed to pull him away. "This is for your own safety as well as those beasts'."

"You again?" The man scoffed, trying to shrug the hand off and failing. "You promised we'd be able to speak to someone in charge and I refuse to speak to a brute of a Nord like you."

Shale fought against the urge to beat her head into the nearest tree. The Redguard sounded exactly like a person of status, demanding to talk to those in charge even if it caused a big inconvenience. Not the kind of person she wanted to deal with before the sun rose. Stepping out of the trees, she took a breath, preparing the most scathing remark she could make to him ….

Then the wind changed ….

….and the horses went mad.


End file.
